Obligations and Commitments
by Dakk Tribal
Summary: Between his family and friends giving him crap about his relationship with his girlfriend and fighting Hollows, Ichigo hopes that he can at least spend some time with Orihime with barely any interruptions. But how can he when a Hollow swarm begins to consume Karakura Town? / IchiHime story, Rated T for language, some action, and some sensual moments.
1. Chapter 1

A light knock stirred Ichigo in his bed, the light of Saturday morning peering in on his room as well.

Another series of knocks on his door, followed by the young voice of Ichigo's younger sister Yuzu, "Ichigo! Breakfast is ready!"

Opening his eyes and sitting up, Ichigo did a manly yawn then turned to his closed and locked door, "Alright Yuzu…I'm coming."

"Oh, and Ichigo, make sure not to step on Orihime when you get out of bed," Yuzu casually reminded her brother.

"Yeah yeah," he said, and as he heard his sister walk away, he had to confess, _'I would watch out for her, if she was on the floor to begin with_.' What Ichigo meant was that his girlfriend of only four months came over to his house late the night before and asked if she could spend the night. He would never turn her away, this she more than likely knew, and he made her a bed. Thing was…she wasn't there now. In fact…

Ichigo looked back down on his mattress, down at the sleeping form of Orihime, who had snuck into his bed sometime in the night. Ichigo had sensed her doing something last night, her reiatsu was really strong and it woke him up as Orihime got into his bed and under the covers. Ichigo had noticed that he had gotten a bit more comfortable when Orihime was around. Ever since they actively started dating it had been like he couldn't live without having her in his sight.

As she lay down, almost curled up with the tip of her right thumb just touching her lips, and her near orange hair was splayed all over the blankets like a fan. She looked so peaceful that Ichigo had regretted the fact that he had to wake her up. Otherwise she'd miss breakfast, and he knew how much she loved eating.

"Hime…time to wake up," he whispered into her ear. She moved restlessly, but her eyes remained closed. Ichigo went and scooted in closer to her, his left hand slowly going down her arm. "C'mon Hime, we're having stir fry this morning. Yuzu is making it."

Orihime's eyes slowly opened, remaining half open because of how tired she was. "Chicken stir fry?" She asked softly.

Ichigo lowered his lips to her forehead, giving her a soft kiss, "That's right." He pulled back and Orihime followed him up.

She stretched out her arms over her head and then gave a great big yawn. Ichigo noticed that the left strap of her nightgown had slipped off her shoulder, but Orihime didn't seem to notice. The curve of her breast was more visible to his eyes and he had to look away. "Looks like you had a malfunction." He pointed to her shoulder, his cheeks a little red.

Orihime gave him a confused look before following the trail of his finger to her shoulder, and she corrected her clothing. "Sorry, and thanks."

Ichigo nodded with a smile, something he rarely ever did with anyone else. Usually he had a scowl and a look of irritation on his face, but when Orihime was around he was a bit less of a jerk, as Orihime's best friend Tatsuki would say. Almost outright friendly, which would surprise many of those who knew Ichigo since he was a kid. Seemed Orihime brought out his more friendly self.

"Well, best better get going before our breakfast gets cold," Ichigo said, standing up beside his bed. Orihime sat on her knees, watching him before she too got off the comfortable bed. As Orihime went to check on her bag she heard Ichigo continue, "Oh, and please keep the fact that you slept in my bed with me a secret. My dad would more than likely give me all sorts of crap for it."

This caught Orihime by surprise. The last time she remembered, Ichigo had told his dad about them dating. Then it hit her, "You think he'd take it the wrong way?"

Ichigo could only imagine what his crazy father would come up with to torture him with in the future and he really didn't want that. His life was already hectic as it was with the fighting with hollows, soul reapers, arrancars, and what not. He didn't want his dad getting into what he thought he was doing with his girlfriend. "It'd be worse than that, I'm sure."

Orihime felt the gears in her mind working, the imagination beginning to move, "Well, if he does ask I'll just tell him the truth."

"C'mon Hime, I don't know if he'd buy that. My sisters certainly wouldn't."

"What? They would think you were up to no good just because of my…insecurities? I was the one who came over here in the first place," Orihime argued, and her point was valid, but Ichigo countered.

"But I was the one who let you in the house at such a late hour. Besides…you were scared, emotionally vulnerable…" He stopped there, the rest of what he wanted to say being said under his breath. Ichigo would admit that as clueless as he was when it came to girls, he knew that there were people who would have taken advantage of Orihime. She had come to him because she was scared, fearful that something was after her, and came to the one person she trusted most to protect her. He was there to protect her, just like he had done before, and if anything wanted to get at Orihime, it'd have to be over his dead body. He sighed, "Just…keep this quiet for now, alright? I'll break the news someday."

Orihime watched him as he left, and her sympathy for him grew. Ichigo was in a tough spot to begin with her being in his room under less than ideal circumstances. Of course being his girlfriend was more than a pleasure, in fact it was a dream come true for her, but she couldn't help but feel like she was the problem. Not just a part of the problem, but _the_ problem. That was how she was, she'd smile and act as if she wasn't bothered, but deep down…she couldn't help but feel terrible about it.

_'__I'll just…be more careful from now on,'_ she thought, putting her bag back in the corner it had been in and heading out the door.

With Orihime and her feelings clouding his mind, Ichigo had almost totally forgotten about his father's normal morning attacks. A dodge and a right rook followed by a suplex squashed his dad's dreams of finally catching his son off guard. "Nice try Dad."

Isshin Kurosaki lay in a heap at the bottom of the stairs, and not in a very comfortable position one would see. "You are still that damn good…"

Ichigo refrained from berating his father, mostly because of his empty stomach calling for some food. The chicken was cooked just the way that Yuzu often made it, which was just right in Ichigo's opinion. His father had gotten off his backside and made it back to the table, taking his seat opposite of his son. That was when Orihime made her way down the stairs, quietly wondering if she had heard someone having a brawl while she had gone to change. Judging by the bruise on Isshin's left cheek; she guessed that was what had happened.

"Morning, Orihime," Isshin said respectfully, his eyes narrowing but with a rather sly smile on his face as he eyed his son's beautiful girlfriend take a seat next to Ichigo. While Isshin found it odd that his son, one of those types of guys girls tended to dislike, had a girlfriend he liked how it was Orihime. Just by looking at her, he saw some positive similarity with his late wife. Speaking of which, "You say good morning to your mother yet, Ichigo?"

Raising his gaze from his breakfast, Ichigo turned his head back to his living room where on the wall was a large poster of his mother, Masaki. "Morning mom," he said in a low voice, but Orihime heard it, and she also noticed the peaceful look on his face. Yet as soon as he returned to the table and food, it changed back to that all too familiar scowl he was known for.

Orihime pretty much gobbled up everything that she was offered, and all the while she was surprised that no one asked about her sudden appearance in the middle of the night before. _Guess it was out of respect…or kindness_, she thought, hoping for either of those options.

Isshin was the first one to leave the table, "Well, better be off to the clinic. I'll see you all later."

Orihime spoke, "Thank you for letting me stay, Mr. Kurosaki."

Ichigo noted the goofy smile his dad gave his girlfriend, "no problem, Orihime. Take care of Ichigo, okay?"

Not too sure what to make of that, Orihime remained silent as she heard Ichigo raise his voice, "Like you need to worry about that. Get going."

Isshin opened the door that led outside his house, "And try to make him lighten up a bit." He just missed getting hit by one of Ichigo's slippers when he went out the door.

"Sheesh, that guy needs to lay off me," Ichigo said, his tone slightly irritated and running his hands through his orange hair. His dad pissed him off on a regular basis but ever since he found out his relationship with Orihime he had gone to a whole new level of being annoying. Ichigo would have been more irritated than he already was had he not caught Orihime's big eyes looking at him. Looking at him with that lovely smile of hers, and he quickly forgot about his pest of a father.

Both Yuzu and Karin cleaned up the table and kitchen before going about doing their chores. Ichigo also helped them, and even Orihime lent a hand even after Ichigo politely told her that as a guest she wasn't obligated to. In her mind, Orihime was returning the favor for Ichigo letting her in late the night before. What better way to do so than clean the house?

It was because of the extra set of hands that the siblings were able to finish early and somehow get to enjoy their Saturday. The girls wanted to stay home this time, and that gave Ichigo a free hand in what he was going to do for the rest of his day. Of course, he could walk Orihime home so she could ready herself for her day too. That was what he felt he should do, so he decided to ask her himself.

"Hey, Hime? Why don't I walk you home?"

Orihime tilted her head, as if deep in thought, then she nodded once, "Of course, Ichi."

Ichigo smiled, remembering how Orihime used to politely refuse him whenever he had offered to walk her home. Those days were, for the most part, long gone.

After telling his sisters that he'd be gonna awhile, but smartly leaving out what he was doing or where he was going, Ichigo and Orihime walked out the door right into the brightly shining sun.

What neither of them could see was that in the rare spots of shade and shadow, hidden even from Ichigo and Orihime's abilities to sense spiritual pressure, there was a set of green eyes looking at them. Watching with pure evil intentions.

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A/N: If this story is well received, I will continue the story.


	2. Chapter 2

What was originally intended to be a simple walk home for Orihime turned out to be a walk to the park. Not that Ichigo cared, it was what Orihime wanted to do and he didn't want to ask why she changed her mind about going home. That and he was in no hurry to get home, truth be told.

_Why head home to my rambunctious family when I could spend some more time with my girlfriend?_

Those words continued to ring through his mind as he walked alongside Orihime, who was talking about all sorts of things and Ichigo was able to get most of it to go through his mind. The subject? School, a bland subject in Ichigo's mind. The two had been receiving quite a lot of publicity for their hook up, which pretty much made headlines when it was unceremoniously announced by some of their friends.

Ichigo's friend Keigo was the one responsible for that mishap, and he was pummeled as a result. Ichigo was picked on by some of the female student body because of relationship too, but they more often than not went to Orihime to voice their concerns. If they have a problem with my relationship they should take it up with me, he thought.

Though he had to admit, Orihime didn't seem to have problems adjusting to it, or if she was she was hiding it pretty damn well. Sometimes Ichigo wondered if there were certain things that didn't bother her. Even after going out for over four months, and being friends for as long as they had been, there were still things he didn't know about her.

The park was pretty empty for it being a Saturday morning, but that didn't bother either of them. Orihime went on over to a swing and sat down. Ichigo was right with her as he watched her happily start to slowly swing. He'd push her from time to time, and this went on for a few minutes before Orihime started to slow down.

"Hey Ichi?"

Ichigo stopped her swing, "Yeah?"

"There's something I want to ask you, and try not to think too much on it, okay?"

She looked up at him, her eyes narrowing, deep in thought as Ichigo peered down at her. He gave a small smile, "Sure, go ahead."

"Alright, I just need to ask: is us being together being a problem for you?"

Ichigo looked perplexed, it was so out of the blue he wasn't quite sure he had heard her right. "Why do you ask that?"

Orihime stood up, "Well, I know that ever since people found out about us it's been rather hard on you."

'Oh boy, here we go...' Ichigo thought with a sigh. "Hime, trust me when I say this. It doesn't matter what people say or think about me, we're together and there isn't anything anyone can do about it. Besides, if they do have a problem, they can talk it up with me."

Always taking charge, that's something I love about him, Orihime thought, bringing a smile to her face.

Ichigo always loved the smiles that Orihime gave him, the whole area she was in seemed to light up like it was Christmas. Something more than worth getting in trouble over, and Orihime was worth more than life itself to him. "Now, is that all that was troubling you? Or is there more?"

Orihime slowly shook her head, the length of her hair going along with it, "No, Ichigo, that is all." She placed her hands on her stomach and Ichigo went and stood next to her.

"Good. Just remember that I will listen if you do have problems you want to share, okay?" Ichigo softly pressed his lips in the center of her forehead, and she smiled at the contact.

"Does the time of day matter? What if I have a problem in the middle of the night?" Orihime asked rather timidly.

"Doesn't matter if it was too late or too early, Hime, just call me and I'll help you," he replied, trying to help her understand what he meant by 'any time'.

"Be my knight in shining armor. I like that. A lot," Orihime said, and she pulled away from Ichigo, her imagination going nuts over what she perceived Ichigo as. That was one of the few things Ichigo couldn't comprehend about her, but considering it made her who she was, it was all the better for both of them. He wouldn't want Orihime to change for any reason. Though sometimes he had to admit she had a really odd imagination.

Ichigo sighed, "A knight in shining armor? I don't think I'm that virtuous."

"Oh hush, you always saved me when I needed you the most. I don't think anything other than a knight would do that," Orihime said, giving her boyfriend a wink before they headed off on their way.

The following Monday the first person Ichigo had run into was Keigo and his usual rants. That guy was, no other way to put it, jealous as hell to what he called 'score' with getting Orihime to date him. The guy was so upset when it was found to be official, Ichigo thought he'd be depressed for the rest of his life.

And right now he was bothering him over something involving Orihime. Big surprise.

"Alright, so I went to the park with Orihime Saturday morning. What's the big deal?"

Keigo stood up on his chair, pointing his finger in Ichigo's face. Ichigo was taller than him when he was on the ground and even though he was over a foot off the ground now he was nearly eye level with the orange haired teen. "You guys came from the same direction, holding hands! Then you started making out near the swing set!"

_'Dear god, how did he see that...'_ Ichigo slapped his forehead, red starting to appear in his cheeks (both in anger and embarrassment), less at his friend's spying and more at his misinterpretation of what he had seen. "First of all, we didn't 'make out', and second-" Ichigo grabbed Keigo by the hair and put it in a headlock, squeezing tightly, "Why in the blue hell were you following us?!"

Of course, Ichigo wanted to hurt Keigo more than to hear an explanation from him, but it was pretty satisfying for him nonetheless. Keigo gave muffled shouts of pain and tried flailing around to get loose but Ichigo was too strong.

Mizuiro was sitting on the chair next to the brawling, trying to be the level head in the circle of friends...though it was to make things easier on him and not his friends. "I had no part in that. It was all his idea, Ichigo." And that was all he had to say in the matter, and Ichigo further tried to make Keigo a handicap.

Meanwhile, as Ichigo was torturing Keigo, Orihime was in a bit of trouble on her side. Chizuru was all over her. Literally. The red head was groping her friend all over as if she was searching for something and all Orihime could do was just take it no matter how much she wanted to get out of it. "Ichigo touched you! How dare he do that! He better have not done anything inappropriately!"

A loud smack to the back of Chizuru's head with a text book sent her tumbling to the floor, courtesy of Tatsuki, who had just shown up for class. In the nick of time in Orihime's case. "You okay Orihime?"

The girl was in the process of straightening out her uniform as she answered, "Yeah, thanks Tatsuki. I have no idea what got into her."

The two friends looked down at Chizuru, who was still in a heap on the floor, and it wouldn't be long before she'd get back up. Tatsuki sighed, "I think she was more worried about what got into you, kiddo."

"Huh?"

"As a matter of fact, I'm a bit curious as well, but out of respect, I won't ask," Tatsuki said, crossing her arms over her chest and leering at Ichigo across the room. He had just released Keigo and the poor guy was gasping for air while pitiful tears came out of his eyes.

Orihime had also turned to look at Ichigo but she immediately got eye contact with him, and she swore her legs would give out on her had Tatsuki not snapped her out of her daze. "Earth to Orihime...you there?"

"Yeah, sorry," Orihime said with a sigh of her own, but it was a calm one and she was still smiling. "I take it you heard about the park too, huh Tatsuki."

"How could I not, with Keigo being the sole news man around here. He called it a 'tragedy' though I think he over exaggerated that term greatly," she turned to Orihime, "But listen Orihime, I'm gonna get to the point. I have nothing against you and Ichigo dating, just promise me that you'll take it slow. Last thing I want to hear is you two getting all lovey-dovey in public, alright?"

Orihime didn't seem too concerned, "I promise Tatsuki."

"Good, otherwise I'll drag you down to the clinic and give you the pills myself."

Orihime was caught off guard this time, "Pills? What are you-"

"I HATE YOU!"

Both girls looked over at Keigo as he ran right out the door, and Ichigo had his hands on his hips at his friend's childish reaction.

"He'll be back," Ichigo said.

Mizuiro wasn't surprised at Keigo's reaction to what he had just heard, "So, you plan to go through with asking her huh?"

"Well, they are only available this week, I figured it'd be fun for the both of us."

"What was Keigo so upset about?"

Ichigo immediately straightened up when he saw Tatsuki and Orihime standing nearby. Luckily Mizuiro was able to take the initiative, "Ichigo said he was gonna hang out after school with Orihime and Keigo reacted rather stupid."

_'Thanks for screwing that up, pal,'_ Ichigo angrily thought, squeezing his fists. "Yeah, unless she had other things to do."

His words were directed at his princess, and she got them. Orihime smiled, taking her place standing next to Ichigo. She whispered, "We going somewhere then?"

Ichigo whispered back, "It's a surprise, Hime. I think you'll like it."

Out of view of the others, one of Orihime's hands found Ichigo's and gave it a firm but loving squeeze, "I'll look forward to it then."

"Alright lovebirds, it's time for class, let's go," Tatsuki pulled Orihime away from Ichigo's grasp and he was nearly pulled with the two girls but Mizuiro caught him in time.

Orihime got on her own feet and started walking on her own, "Tatsuki, that wasn't necessary you know."

"Maybe I should follow Keigo's lead and start tailing you, Orihime. Just in case," Tatsuki murmured, wondering where her best friend was heading with her first boyfriend.

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**A/N:** Well, yet another chapter. Hope you guys like it. Stay tuned for the next one!


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